Who Was King Tut’s Mother?

There appears to be a lot of mystery surrounding King Tut
mother’s life, and there are several reasons for this obscurity. It
could partly be to King Tut’s father, Akhenaten, bringing radical
changes to politics and religion during his reign; therefore,
causing much turmoil amongst the population. It seems that most of
the royal records that held the key to Tutankhamen’s family lineage
were destroyed soon after Akhenaten’s death. Akhenaten upset the
balance of the culture and region so much so, that many pharaohs
after him went to great lengths to erase him from history. It looks
as if his son also partook in this practice.

So who was King Tut’s mother? Many Egyptologists concur that it is
most likely Nefertiti or Kiya. Nefertiti was the famous queen often
depicted with Akhenaten and logically could be Tutankhamen’s mother.
She is often seen in many portraits with Akhenaten portrayed as
“near” status to the pharaoh. The other woman is known as Kiya.
Little is known about her origins or her life. It was believed that
she was a foreign princess that became and remained Akhenaten’s
second wife. She appears to be an important figure in Ancient Egypt
and for the Pharaoh Akhenaten and was often referred to as, “The
greatly beloved wife of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt.”

The jury is still out as to which one of these great women was truly
King Tut’s mother. Many say it is Nefertiti; however, others believe
it is Kiya. As more evidence comes to light, the facts seem to point
to Kiya. A great belief is that Nefertiti was nothing more than a
step-mother to King Tut. This is due to the fact that many of the
tomb paintings and reliefs of Nefertiti do not show her with King
Tut as a child; although, she is often depicted with Akhenaten and
their six daughters.

Because Nefertiti’s mummy has not been discovered as yet, scientists
cannot compare Tutankhamen’s DNA to determine if this queen was the
true mother. For this reason alone, many will continue to refer to
Nefertiti as King Tut’s step mother until more evidence can disprove
this theory.

Kiya: King Tut’s Mother

More things seem to point to Kiya being King Tut’s true mother. New
evidence has even come to light that now proves the young pharaoh
was most likely a product of incest. This new DNA evidence from
samples taken in 2008, suggests that Kiya and Akhenaten were
siblings. This would not have been out of the ordinary as many
Ancient Egyptian monarchs wanted to ensure that their bloodlines
remained royal; therefore, common practice was to marry within
families. It should be noted that King Tut was also married to his
half-sister Ankhesenamun, which further substantiates this
incestuous practice.

If the two siblings were the product of Amenhotep III and Queen
Tiye, this would then exclude Queen Kiya from being a foreign
princess. It should also be noted that many other experts believe
“inappropriate analysis techniques” were used to determine these
facts; therefore, dispelling these family-tree theories.

KV63: King Tut’s Mother’s Tomb

King Tut mother’s tomb is believed to have been discovered in the
Valley of the Kings; however, no mummy was actually located. The
tomb is next to King Tut’s burial site but remains shrouded with
mystery due to the absence of an actual body. The tomb is known as
KV63 and was found as a cache filled with coffins and storage jars.
Many of the coffins yielded nothing except the sixth one which
contained six pillows. These pillows remain a mystery as well, but
it is thought these pillows could have been important items
belonging to the queen during her

lifetime and could have been used as bedding while her body went
through the mummification process. Of course this is all still
speculation; however, if this embalming storage was in fact King
Tut’s mother’s tomb, it would have been in conjunction with King
Tut’s final wishes; that he be buried next to his mother.